1) Origin
Until recently, the Spinone was not well known outside of Italy. So you might be surprised to learn that records of dogs with characteristics like the Spinone go back to 200 A.D. In documents dated to that year, there are references to the Spinone’s calm, cooperative hunting style.
2) Name
The Spinone has had many different names throughout its history. Its modern name comes from one of its former names, Bracco Spinoso, which is Italian for “prickly pointer.” The word “prickly” probably refers to the Spinone’s wiry coat. Prickly also describes the brush where the Spinone’s game would hide.
3) Appearance
The Spin has the distinctive long, floppy ears of a scent-hound (lovely to stroke!) and a rough, wiry coat which makes him the ideal Italian hunting dog and is also very easy to maintain. He is not a heavy shedder but does moult a little for most of the year. Perhaps the most distinctive thing about the Spinone is his long eyebrows and beard. They give him a kindly look, which is actually very true to his nature and makes him a great hit with families.
4) Personality
Eager to please and very good-natured, the Italian Spinone is the most easy-going and loving of all the Italian dog breeds who, although he likes exercise and being outdoors, also loves being a couch potato.
5) Training
The Spin is an intelligent, optimistic dog, laid back, happy and easily satisfied, naturally obedient and absolutely loves to please. All those things make him very easy to train and an excellent agility dog. Training the Spinone will also help to use some of his natural energy and stamina. As an Italian hunting dog his natural stance is to want to be occupied. Training him helps occupy his mind.
6) Versatile Breed
One of the reasons the Spinone is touted as such a great hunting dog is that it is both a pointer and a retriever. A pointer uses his muzzle to point toward the game, while a retriever will jump in the water to retrieve birds that a hunter has shot. Because he plays both roles, the Spinone is particularly valuable to a hunter.
7) Family Pet
He will enjoy being part of a family but he’s not a dominant dog so feels safer when he’s low down in the pecking order. He needs to feel like an additional child in your home rather than an adult.
8) Italian Art
Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna incorporated dogs into the frescoes he painted on the walls of the Ducal Palace in Mantua, Italy. You can see a dog in the “Meeting Scene,” as well as the “Court Scene.” Experts think these dogs are probably Spinone Italianos.

9) Almost Extinct
Spinone Italianos used to have different names and different traits, depending on the region of Italy where they were bred. Breeders were trying to reverse this regionalization trend, but World War II interrupted their efforts. The war dispersed breeders, their dogs, and the breed records, and made surviving, not dog breeding, everyone’s top priority. After the war was over, breeders rallied to save the Spinone from extinction.
10) Shaggy Dog
Like all shaggy dogs, the Spinone Italiano is a messy dog. Leaves, mud, snow, fecal matter, and other debris cling to his rough coat and end up deposited through your house. When he drinks, his beard absorbs water, which drips on your floors when he walks away. When he eats, his beard absorbs food so that when he sniffs your face or presses his head against your leg, you end up dirty, too. Big shaggy dogs are not suited to fastidious housekeepers.
Source:
http://www.akc.org/content/entertainment/articles/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-spinone-italiano/
http://www.explore-italian-culture.com/italian-dog-breeds.html
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/spinoneitaliano.html